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Prevent Cuts and Lacerations in the Restaurant Industry

Knives, plates, machines and glassware are essential tools found in restaurants. They are extremely useful, but if mishandled they can be detrimental to your business. Restaurant safety is important and your staff should be trained on how to properly handle sharp and fragile equipment to avoid injuries. Below are tips on how to prevent cuts/lacerations from sharp objects found throughout the restaurant industry.

Knife Safety

Keep knives sharpened and let other staff know when knives are newly sharpened.

Use the appropriate size knife for the job.

Always use a cutting board. They prevent objects from slipping while being cut which could lead to injury.

Keep knives out of dish tubs/sinks

Carry knives with the point down and the cutting edge away from your body.

Store knives properly in racks or knife sheaths close to areas where they are used.

Clean knives immediately after use.

At all times, be in control of your knife blade, your body, and the food you are cutting.

Tagrisk Insurance Services’ risk appetite includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and lounges. Our hospitality insurance programs fill coverage gaps that may exist in your current policies. Do not renew your insurance without a quote from us. Contact Tagrisk Insurance Services for a quote today!

Prevent Cross-Contamination in Your Restaurant

Cross-Contamination from unsanitary practices or food mishandling can be detrimental to your restaurant. Cross-Contamination can lead to foodborne illnesses which can cause bigger issues for your business. “Foodborne illnesses affect as many as 76 million Americans each year. It is claimed that about 58% of the instances of foodborne illness arise out of commercial and institutional foodservice.” [1] From liability risks to a tarnished reputation, we here Tagrisk care about safety in the restaurant industry. Below are some tips to avoid cross-contamination and prevent foodborne illnesses.

Personal Hygiene

One of the first steps to preventing cross-contamination is maintaining clean personal hygiene. Employees should keep their hands clean by washing their hands frequently. Anytime disposable gloves are changed, hands should be washed with hot water and soap to fight germs and harmful bacteria. Hands also must be washed after using the restroom, coughing, sneezing, handling dirty dishes, handling money, eating, smoking, etc. Hands should be dried with a hand dryer or clean single-use paper towels. Employees should never wipe their hands on their apron or uniform. Policies and standards should be put in place to prevent employees from beginning their shifts if they are not meeting hygiene standards. Staff should come to work with a clean complete uniform, properly groomed, bathed, and any other standards that fit the safety needs of the restaurant. Employees should not come to work sick or with open wounds. Personal Hygiene is essential in preventing cross-contamination.

Separate Food – Separate Equipment

People are allergic to all kinds of foods. The way employees handle food and equipment is extremely important. Each type of food should be prepared and handled with clean equipment. For example, raw meat and fresh produce should not be cut with the same knife as this leads to cross-contamination. Gloves should also be changed for every different kind of food that is being prepared. If possible, color coding stations and equipment could help keep equipment separate. There are multiple points of contact from food preparation to end customer. Every point matters just as much as the last.

Clean and Sanitize Surfaces

Wash, Clean, Sanitize. Rinsing hands, tools, surfaces, and equipment is not enough to kill germs and harmful bacteria. Before and after food is prepared on a work surface, it must be cleaned with soap and water, and then sanitized. Remember, gloves need to be changed after using cleaning solvent. Work surfaces are not the only surfaces that need to be kept clean. Counters, utensils, cutting boards and tables need to be cleaned in between uses.

Tagrisk Insurance Services’ risk appetite includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and lounges. Our hospitality insurance programs fill coverage gaps that may exist in your current policies. Do not renew your insurance without a quote from us. Contact Tagrisk Insurance Services for a quote today!

Restaurant Safety

Restaurant safety is essential in the restaurant industry. It is equally important to the employers, employees, and customers alike. There are many potential hazards in the restaurant industry which is why Tagrisk Insurance Services offers a complete suite of hospitality insurance programs to protect restaurant owners and their businesses.

Cross Contamination

Proper food prep, handling, and storage are essential for restaurants as the smallest mistakes can have enormous ramifications. Cross Contamination can leave your customers sick or worse! Some restaurants must operate faster than others (maybe speed is one of their core values). The employees at these restaurants may forget to put gloves on when using solvent to clean up messes. Clear labels and a storage section/closet dedicated to cleaning materials may deter this from happening.

Health Care Inspection

Sanitation, good hygiene, and food temperature control are mandatory for restaurants and are major points during a health care inspection. Thermometers should always be calibrated and heavier items should be stored on the bottom rack/shelf. Employees should also be frequently washing their hands (especially when leaving the bathroom). Employees should also come to work clean and with a clean uniform. Depending on the restaurant, your staff may require an apron, gloves, hairnet, and slip resistant shoes.

Ergonomics/Slip and Falls

Ergonomics from comfortable seating for guests to employees standing for long periods of time requires attention. Consider the cause of one of the most common hazards in restaurants, slippery floors. Slip and falls do happen but there are preventative measures your establishment can take before a slip and fall turns into a lawsuit. Don’t forget that your employees can hurt themselves the same way customers can in your restaurant! With sharp objects, fryers, and hot stoves the chances of your staff getting seriously hurt increases exponentially. To help mitigate these situations, consider slip-resistant shoes, slip-resistant floor mats, and lighting for maximum visibility in your establishment.

Burns

It is no surprise that employees get burned working with equipment that heats to over 300 degrees from time to time. But how prepared are you for when this happens? A plan needs to be in place on how to handle burns efficiently and effectively as possible. If you notice your employees are receiving burns frequently as opposed to from time to time then you may need to revisit and reevaluate your safety handbook. Extra safety equipment such as heat resistant gloves and pot holders may need to be added to your inventory. There are also fire hazards while working with equipment that hot. Employees should be trained on what to do if a fire breaks out in the restaurant

Lacerations, Strains and Sprains

Lacerations, strains and sprains are almost as common as burns in the restaurant industry. Lacerations (cuts) occur from using knives or other sharp cutting equipment. Safety procedures should be put in place on how to operate sharp cutting equipment and knives should never be improperly stored. Customers can also get cut if they touch broken plates, bowls, or glasses. It is important that defective or broken utensils/dinnerware are never served to customers. Strains and sprains come from lifting incorrectly and repetitive motions (such as cutting and folding). Proper technique and communication can curb these injuries.

Tagrisk Insurance Services’ risk appetite includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and lounges. Our hospitality insurance programs fill coverage gaps that may exist in your current policies. Do not renew your insurance without a quote from us. Contact Tagrisk Insurance Services for a quote today!

Why Tagrisk?

Tagrisk Insurance Services is a world class insurance organization, providing an innovative and creative alternative to today’s conventional industry standards. We lead the industry by sticking to our core values of industry, innovation and integrity. What we have done for the hospitality industry has been nothing short of amazing. We understand 100% of your risks and design insurance solutions that eliminate coverage gaps, and protect you with top hospitality insurance carriers. Our leadership team has over fifty years’ experience providing insurance solutions to nightlife hospitality venues. Our experience specializing in the restaurant, bar and nightclub industries provide a unique perspective to your market. The exclusive relationships our team has formed allows Tagrisk to provide broad based carrier access with programs designed specifically for the unique needs of our clients.

Our leadership team is led by none other than our Chief Executive Officer, Thomas A. Golub. Tom has 3 decades of executive leadership and sales management experience. He founded Tagrisk Insurance Services in 2013 after selling Beecher Carlson Holdings Inc. to Brown & Brown Inc in July of 2013. His knowledge of the commercial insurance industry, more specifically the nightlife hospitality industry, is unmatched and is one of the reasons Tagrisk is a powerhouse today. Tom is well respected throughout the hospitality industry and his likeness has aided in building strong relationships with various insurance carriers. Our carrier relationships help us provide and exceptional level of customer service with access to our Risk Management Center and premium financing 5-10% less than the industry standard.

General Liability

Liquor Liability

Assault & Battery

Hired & Non-Owned Auto

Employee Benefits Liability

Excess Liability

Commercial Auto

Employers Liability

Commercial Property

Workers Compensation

Cyber Liability

Other Options Available

Tagrisk Insurance Services’ risk appetite includes but is not limited to restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and lounges. Our hospitality insurance programs fill coverage gaps that may exist in your current policies. Do not renew your insurance without a quote from us. Contact Tagrisk Insurance Services for a quote today!

Every now and again, every company needs to spice things up with their staff. Unless the work dynamically changes everyday, then maybe it’s time to give one of these ideas a try.

Shoutout Board – Employees can write notes here about co-workers and their internal work OR their work with customers. Your company can have these set up across the company and give gifts to those with the most “shoutouts.”

Email System – Customizing subject lines with key words to tell the content of the email saves time. The University of California San Diego Healthy System’s staff stars off every email with either action, information, or response. This helps prioritize emails.

Tailored Benefits – Who doesn’t like unconventional or unique benefits?

On-the-road Stages – Some companies, like Bar Marco, take their employees on educational trips in hopes of taking something away from the experience and applying them back at work.

Pop of Red – New uniforms (if they’re mandatory). Give your employees some variety in styles and colors of shirts. Maybe Fridays can be jeans day, you decide!

http://tagrisk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Tagrisk-JPG-LOGO1-300x106.jpg00Evanshttp://tagrisk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Tagrisk-JPG-LOGO1-300x106.jpgEvans2016-11-17 20:40:372016-11-17 20:41:24Make Work More Enjoyable For Your Employees With These Ideas

After Election Day was over (last Tuesday) and the votes were counted, 4 states have voted to raise their minimum wage. Those four states are Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington.

The minimum wage will increase to the following for each of these 4 states:

Arizona – $12

Colorado – $12

Maine – $12

Washington – $13.50 (by 2020)

There will be mandated paid time leave from employers in Arizona and Washington. As long as restaurants in Arizona maintain a staff over 15 employees, then they must provide 40 hours of sick time per employee per year. If restaurants have less than, 15 employees then employees will still receive 24 hours of sick time. One hour of paid leave for every 40 hours of work is provided in Washington.

http://tagrisk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Tagrisk-JPG-LOGO1-300x106.jpg00Evanshttp://tagrisk.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Tagrisk-JPG-LOGO1-300x106.jpgEvans2016-11-15 20:59:352016-11-15 21:01:06Employees in These States Will See a Higher Minimum Wage